


The Path to Love (It’s Oh So Magical)

by numberonemilkbread



Series: Iwaoi's Hogwarts Adventures [5]
Category: Haikyuu!!, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Fluff, Growing Up, Gryffindor!Iwaizumi, M/M, POV Multiple, Slytherin!Oikawa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-02
Updated: 2020-08-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:02:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25666378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/numberonemilkbread/pseuds/numberonemilkbread
Summary: "Hanamaki thinks the two act more like his loving parents than normal friends, but he dismisses the thought and tells himself they’ve just got a special kind of friendship."Iwaizumi and Oikawa throughout the years, as seen through the eyes of those around them.
Relationships: Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru
Series: Iwaoi's Hogwarts Adventures [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1860697
Comments: 11
Kudos: 191





	The Path to Love (It’s Oh So Magical)

**Author's Note:**

> So I've now made _Accio Your Heart_ and this one part of a series centering around Iwaoi at Hogwarts!
> 
> Some of you expressed interest in a Yule Ball sequel to my first fic and I promise I'm working on it :) I'm just posting this one first because I wrote it at the same time as my first fic and wanted to finish it before moving on to other stories. 
> 
> I'll admit I'm not completely satisfied with this story because some places seem awkward so I might rewrite some parts later, but I just hope it's not too terrible to read right now.
> 
> (9/27)- Russian translation now available [here](https://ficbook.net/readfic/9904178) :)

_1 st year_

The Hogwarts Express pulled away from Platform 9 ¾ a few minutes ago, and the scenery outside blurs into a mass of greens and blues, a contorted image of the countryside.

Hanamaki is discussing yesterday afternoon’s Japan vs. China volleyball match with Matsukawa when the compartment door slides open, and a boy with brown curls and huge eyes pokes his head in. The boy introduces himself enthusiastically as Oikawa Tooru, announces that he’s here because he overheard their conversation about volleyball, and plops himself into the seat across from Hanamaki all in one breath. Before Hanamaki can say anything, a gruff voice enters the compartment, mumbling an apology for his rude friend and a “ _sorry for the intrusion_ ”. Matsukawa assures him it’s alright, and the other boy visibly relaxes before settling himself into the seat next to the Oikawa boy, offering his name _Iwaizumi Hajime_.

Hanamaki’s wary of Oikawa at first, not sure what to make of the overenthusiastic stranger, but he’s surprised to find that the two boys are easy to get along with. They discuss the match before realizing they’ve all attended non-magical ( _muggle,_ Hanamaki reminds himself of the wizard terminology he’ll have to get used to now) elementary schools and have all played volleyball, which the conversation turns towards to before moving on to their friendship origins. Matsukawa shares that he’s been friends with Hanamaki ever since they were 7 and found Hanamaki putting ketchup packets under the bumps of the toilet seats in the girl’s bathroom. Hanamaki chuckles at the memory and shares a sly grin with his best friend when Iwaizumi asks blankly why Matsukawa was also in the girl’s bathroom. Oikawa launches into the story of enlarging the beetle when he was 6 and throws an arm around Iwaizumi when he finishes the recount with, “and that’s how I met my _beeeeeeest_ friend Iwa-chan!” Iwaizumi shoves him off, but Hanamaki catches the fond look the boy casts at his best friend before he does so.

He catches a lot more of those little signs after that.

When the nice lunch trolley lady comes by and introduces all the sweets Hanamaki’s never seen before (and is dying to try), the four boys agree to pool their money and buy a bit of each. Soon, Hanamaki and Matsukawa are trying to see who can eat the grossest Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Bean (Hanamaki almost pukes when he tastes one that reminds him _exactly_ of vomit and Matsukawa excitedly grabs an identical red-spotted orange bean so he can “see how disgusting it is”. They proceed to both gag and guzzle water and try not to throw up while Iwaizumi watches them like they’re the two biggest idiots he’s ever met). In the spirit of their little competition, Matsukawa makes Oikawa and Iwaizumi each take one too, assuring them there _are_ some good flavors (“like green apple, lemon, toothpaste, lawn clippings…”). Oikawa tries to comb through the bag to find the least repulsive-looking one and Hanamaki decides to make him pick blindly because “your gross fingers are fondling every bean like a pervert when you do that!”

Oikawa ends up pinching a sickly green bean with dark green specks between his fingers, inspecting it with a look of unease. Iwaizumi is holding a solid dark brown bean and looking slightly bored when Oikawa starts whining.

“I don’t want to eat this! It’s all green and gross-looking!”

“I thought you liked green. Aren’t you always talking about how green is the color of aliens and if your favorite color is green, you’ll have a higher chance of being abducted by them?” Iwaizumi reminds him. Matsukawa and Hanamaki share a look and try to reign in their laughter at the sheer ridiculousness of the words.

“Makki-chan! Mattsun-chan! Stop making fun of me, or the aliens will come for you!”

This just makes the two boys laugh even harder, and Oikawa starts talking about obscure alien theories that Hanamaki doesn’t follow at all. Thankfully, Iwaizumi cuts off the lecture on aliens by reminding him of the beans still sitting in their hands.

Oikawa’s animated face drops into a pout, one arm wrapping around Iwaizumi’s arm and whining about exchanging their beans because Iwaizumi’s looks _way_ better. Hanamaki watches with amusement as Oikawa rambles on about brown being the color of chocolate while green is the color of spinach and broccoli and other gross things. Iwaizumi rolls his eyes and says brown is also the color of poop, but Oikawa declares he’ll take his chances because there’s a chance it’ll be chocolate, while his green bean definitely won’t taste like anything good. Hanamaki is quite surprised when Iwaizumi sighs and holds out his palm for Oikawa’s bean, which the other boy hands over with a beam. After eating the vomit flavor one, he definitely wouldn’t have traded for the green bean (which _did_ look disgusting), not even for Matsukawa (on the contrary, he would’ve delightfully watched his best friend suffer).

On the count of three, the two boys sitting in front of Hanamaki pop their beans into their mouths, the compartment silent for a few seconds as they chew and wait for the flavor to kick in. Oikawa is the first to make a face that molds into horror and disgust that suggests the brown bean was _not_ chocolate. Iwaizumi literally stops chewing halfway and instead opts to swallow the rest of the bean, immediately scrunching up his face and reaching for his water bottle. He coughs out the word _booger_ between gulps of water, inciting pleased grins from Hanamaki and Matsukawa because if they had to suffer through vomit-flavored beans, someone else better suffer with them too.

When Oikawa manages to swallow the bean, Hanamaki congratulates him on not spitting it out and asks what flavor it was.

“Dirt. It reminded me of Iwa-chan, who rolls around on the ground with the bugs and then doesn’t shower,” Oikawa tells them after grabbing the water from Iwaizumi and downing half of the bottle.

Iwaizumi punches Oikawa in the arm and splutters, “Stop lying, I do shower! And don’t forget who was the one who ate a _booger_ flavored one for you!”

The four boys spend the rest of the train ride snacking and talking more about their lives. Hanamaki finds himself noticing more about the uniqueness of Oikawa and Iwaizumi’s friendship, like when Iwaizumi breaks off half a chocolate frog and feeds it to Oikawa because “ _Iwa-chan, I don’t want to touch a frog! Even if it’s a chocolate one! Look, it’s_ moving! _”_ Or when the boys change into their uniform of black robes, dress shirts, and black ties with the Hogwarts emblem, and Iwaizumi patiently teaches Oikawa how to tie his tie before ultimately tying it for him because Oikawa’s handiwork ends up loose and crooked and looking sad.

Hanamaki thinks the two act more like his loving parents than normal friends, but he dismisses the thought and tells himself they’ve just got a special kind of friendship.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

_2 nd year_

Akaashi stares at the blocky symbols in the textbook, with Kenma across from him inspecting the Wizard’s chess set that had been left behind on the library table. Ancient Runes is the first exam he has tomorrow, so he had opted to study, declining Bokuto-san’s overenthusiastic invitation to join a game of truth or dare (but Wizard’s version, apparently. Akaashi doesn’t want to know what _that_ involves) with some second years.

He didn’t expect to become such close friends with the golden-eyed boy that fit in uncannily well with the owls when they had met in the owlery during his second week here. Bokuto-san had been sulking in the corner when he entered because an owl had taken a dump in his hair, which Akaashi waved his wand and cleaned up with a spell he had recently learned, confused about why the older boy didn’t do that himself (he’s since then learned that Bokuto-san does not think logically when he’s in one of his “moods”, and those moods happen _quite_ often). Ever since, Bokuto-san has been popping up everywhere and attaching himself to Akaashi’s side after classes despite them being in different houses and years, but Akaashi finds himself not minding the company at all (or, well, most of the time).

In fact, the loud and zealous man would’ve been next to him right now if he hadn’t chosen the library to be his study spot, knowing Bokuto-san tries not to come here unless he absolutely must. Kuroo-san, whom Akaashi is also well-acquainted with due to the man’s childhood friendship with Kenma, should also be here, but Kenma informed him Kuroo-san was also partaking in Bokuto-san’s game of truth or dare.

Hearing that made Akaashi thankful for his decision to study. Past experiences suggest nothing good ever comes out of Bokuto-san and Kuroo-san being together. He wonders why the two older boys aren’t studying since exams start next week and decides to believe they’re either well-prepared already or plain stupid enough to procrastinate studying. For the sake of his friends, he hopes it’s the former, but knowing them, it’s definitely the latter.

He sets down the quill he’s been fiddling with and starts wandering the aisles in search of an Ancient Runes translation book to help him with the text he’s currently struggling with. The library is still huge and labyrinthian even after almost an entire year in this school, so he ends up combing shelves until he’s near the other end of the library before reaching the foreign language books. He cocks his head slightly to the side to read the titles inscribed onto each spine, gradually making his way across the aisle. There’re voices on the other side of the shelf, loud enough to make Akaashi wonder why the librarian hasn’t appeared out of nowhere and kicked them out yet (something that happened often in Bokuto-san’s presence before he started avoiding this place).

He doesn’t recognize the voices, but he does recognize the faces he sees when he pulls out a promising-looking book, revealing the open space in the shelf behind it. He registers the wavy-haired boy sitting on the right as Slytherin’s star chaser Oikawa-san and the other guy as Bokuto-san’s friend Iwaizumi-san. Iwaizumi-san is hard at work, scribbling furiously on a piece of parchment with a textbook in front of him. Oikawa-san has his robes draped over the back of his chair and feet on the table (something Akaashi is sure isn’t allowed), whining about being bored while a neglected book sits face down on his lap.

Iwaizumi-san appears to be losing his patience because while Oikawa-san’s voice has been the only noise in the past few minutes, the Gryffindor suddenly tears his eyes away from his textbook and hisses, “Will you _shut up_ and do your work?”

“But _Iwa-chan_ , it’s so boooooring!” Oikawa-san complains with dragged-out words. Akaashi briefly entertains the idea of Oikawa-san secretly being a 6-year-old who somehow magicked himself into the body of a 12-year-old. He also cannot believe this is the same boy who holds the title as Slytherin’s _star_ chaser and a likely candidate for Quidditch captain after the current one graduates in three years. 

Iwaizumi-san points his wand menacingly at the other boy, saying threateningly, “Shut up and do your work, or _I’ll_ shut you up.”

Oikawa-san laughs and removes his feet from the table to scoot closer to Iwaizumi-san, depositing the book that had been on his lap onto the table. “Iwa-chan, so mean! This _is_ really boring, though.” He picks up his quill and seems to be doodling in the margins of his textbook.

“Well, it’s our last Potions assignment before the exam, so at least we only have two more things to worry about for this class,” Iwaizumi-san answers, flipping a page in his own textbook and resuming his writing. Akaashi watches as Oikawa-san’s eyes sparkle with a devious glint, and the Slytherin presses his body against Iwaizumi-san’s, sinking into his seat so he can lay his head onto his best friend’s shoulder.

“Iwa-chan, we were assigned the same potion recipe, right?” Oikawa-san asks in a faux innocent voice that implies he already knows the answer is _yes_.

Iwaizumi-san scowls down at his textbook, muttering, “Yeah, but forget whatever you’re thinking. It’s not happening.”

“I haven’t even said anything yet, how do you know what I’m thinking?!” Oikawa-san protests, lifting his head off Iwaizumi-san’s shoulder to stare at the boy offendedly.

Snorting, the other boy replies, “You think I wouldn’t know what you’re up to after enduring all your schemes for six years?”

Oikawa-san puts a hand to his heart in feigned offense, exclaiming, “Is that really what you think of me, Iwa-chan? So mean, the great Oikawa-sama would _never_ scheme!”

Akaashi has half a mind to leave, deciding he doesn’t have time to watch this absurd conversation between two of his senpais. He checks the rest of the row to make sure he’s not missing any good books he can possibly use, figuring he can survive at least another minute of this loud nonsense.

“Alright, you can tell me what you’re thinking if it doesn’t involve anything against the rules, against the law or milk bread.”

Oikawa-san is silent for a moment, and Akaashi catches sight of his blank face between books. “Iwa-chan, did you _really_ have to trash milk bread like that?”

Iwaizumi-san scoffs, “I didn’t trash anything, but I’m thinking _someone_ really should go find a trash can to sit in right now. Also, I caught that look. It means your request was going to be illegal, right?” He doesn’t wait for Oikawa-san to answer before following it up with, “Great, case closed. Back to business.” Grasping the quill, he starts writing while Oikawa-san stares at him with an assessing gaze.

“Iwa-chan, _pleaseeee?_ Can I copy your homework just this once?” Oikawa-san whines. Judging by Iwaizumi-san’s lack of reaction, Akaashi thinks the Gryffindor already knew what Oikawa-san’s request would be.

“ _No_ , Oikawa. You know we can get expelled for that,” Iwaizumi-san hisses. Akaashi is unsurprised by that response. He’s heard from Bokuto-san about how responsible and diligent Iwaizumi-san is, and that character profile fits perfectly with how Iwaizumi-san is reacting right now. Also, he had to deal with a sulking Bokuto-san because Iwaizumi-san wouldn’t share his answers to a Charms assignment, citing academic integrity for his refusal.

“ _Pleaseee?_ Just this once! I promise, Iwa-chan. I just have so much to _do_.”

“Then maybe you should start working instead of whining in my ear like some annoying fly.”

Oikawa-san throws his head onto the table with his arms splayed out on the space in front of him and moans, “I got detention last night so that’s two hours lost every day this week and I still need to fit in some Quidditch practice if I want to beat stupid Ushiwaka-chan next year. Iwa-chan, come on, I promise I’ll start studying for exams right now if you let me copy your Potions recipe. It’s my last assignment aside from exams.”

Akaashi expects another stern refusal from Iwaizumi-san, but the atmosphere is silent for a few moments. He’s watching the two upperclassmen through the gap where the first book he picked up had occupied, knowing he should go now that he’s gotten all he needed, but oddly curious about Iwaizumi-san’s response.

“You got detention? Wait, why were you out at _night_?”

Oikawa-san does not seem confused by Iwaizumi-san’s point of focus, probably already knowing his best friend would latch onto that detail. He smirks slyly and chirps, “You’ll find out soon, Iwa-chan! So, can I copy just this once?”

Iwaizumi-san stares down at his parchment, gaze hard and contemplative. Finally, in a voice gruff but so soft Akaashi has to strain to hear, he says, “Fine, but only this time, okay? I just don’t want you to overwork yourself, especially now with exams coming up and detention every night.” Oikawa-san grins widely and hugs Iwaizumi-san, who then slaps the boy’s shoulder and lectures him on getting detention when exams are so close.

Akaashi is nonplussed, wondering how much Iwaizumi-san must care for Oikawa-san to oppose his morals for the other boy, even if it is only this one time.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

_3 rd year_

Sugawara fondly recalls their match from today as he makes his way back to the Quidditch pitch, a delightful victory against Slytherin that had their whole team jumping off their broomsticks as soon as they swooped low enough and piling on top of each other in a team embrace. He supposes most of the recognition would have to go towards their first-year genius chaser, Kageyama, who scored most of their goals before Hinata excitedly caught the snitch and nearly tumbled off his broomstick. Hufflepuff really had it lucky this year, receiving two members who were both excellent at their positions. From what he’s been hearing, Kageyama’s a pure-blood wizard, which isn’t as big of a deal anymore but still generates enough interest, and that he had already expressed aptitude for the sport at a young age. In fact, word has been buzzing around about the young chaser’s future, many labeling him as a likely target of recruitment by some of the more notable Quidditch teams.

Suga thinks he should be disheartened by the fact that two first years became regulars this year while he’s still merely an alternate chaser and was only promised a spot on the team next year after one of their regular chasers graduate. Still, he believes the team should do what’s best for them and if it means giving his spot to a first year, then so be it. Besides, he got to play today after Ena, one of their chasers, landed in the infirmary for a potions’ accident, so he’s in high spirits.

Glancing around the field, with the spectator stands completely devoid of people since the match ended half an hour ago, Suga tries to recall where he had placed his bookbag after receiving the word to report to the changing rooms as soon as possible. He searches up and down the rows of bleachers in one of the Hufflepuff stands before finally spying it in the top row. He makes his way back down and is about to leave when he hears voices coming from behind one of the Ravenclaw spectator columns, curiosity prompting him to poke his head around the corner to catch a glimpse of whoever was still lingering.

Suga instantly recognizes Oikawa, still in his green Quidditch robes and hair disheveled from the wind. The contrasting red and yellow scarf wrapped around his neck confuses Suga for a second before pinpointing the other boy as Iwaizumi, Gryffindor’s beater and a good friend of Daichi’s. Iwaizumi’s neck is bare but he’s wearing a winter cloak along with his normal school uniform.

Suga’s about to turn away because they’re probably just having a friendly conversation (he knows about their friendship from Daichi, though he would’ve been able to tell even without that because their attempt at faking mere acquaintance is abysmal) when Suga notices something feeling wrong. At first, he thinks Oikawa’s face is pink and splotchy from the December cold, but he’s hit with the realization that Oikawa’s _crying._ His mouth is moving, speaking words Suga isn’t close enough to hear while Iwaizumi’s right hand rests on his shoulder like a weight to ground him, a solemn expression on the Gryffindor’s face.

A hand dips into his pocket as Suga takes out some kind of ear-like object he bought over the weekend from a prank shop in Hogsmeade, supposedly to aid with eavesdropping. It’s meant to go under a closed door, but he thinks it might also work in this situation, so he crouches down and throws the wider-mouthed end in the direction of the two boys while bringing up the other end to his ear. He notes with amusement how Daichi’s remark a few weeks ago about Suga being a Slytherin disguised as a Hufflepuff is really making sense at the moment, but then dismisses the thought because _technically_ he’s not doing anything wrong. He’s just concerned for Oikawa’s rare display of vulnerability because he’s Iwaizumi’s friend, who’s Daichi’s friend, who’s _his_ friend, so that makes Oikawa kind of his friend.

It’s silent for a moment, and Suga stays huddled behind one side of the column, head peeking around the corner slightly to watch the scene, wondering if the item is defective. Then—

“He’s just a first-year! And yet he’s already surpassing me.” Oikawa’s shaking his head like he doesn’t believe what he’s saying. “I _have_ to put more work into this, I _have_ to be better, I _have_ to—”

Suga likes to think he’s good at reading situations, but he definitely did _not_ see Iwaizumi fisting Oikawa’s collar coming, nor the headbutt that comes straight after. The Gryffindor is a few centimeters shorter than Oikawa, but the fury on his face makes the taller boy go limp and stare at his friend blankly while blood starts trickling down his nose.

“I, I, I! Is your ego really that far up your ass you’re only thinking about yourself? You think you’re fighting by yourself? There’re six other players up there with you, the team with the better seven is stronger, dumbass! It’s not you against Kageyama, it’s your team against his team! The loss wasn’t a reflection of _you_ , it just means you have to overcome this challenge _with your team_.”

Oikawa is still gaping at Iwaizumi, blood now staining his Quidditch uniform but making no move to stop the flow of his nosebleed.

Iwaizumi releases his grip on Oikawa and the boy collapses onto the ground, still silent. A second later, Iwaizumi joins him, kneeling down and inspecting his nose.

“Sorry, did I headbutt you too hard?” The gentle voice is a stark contrast to Iwaizumi’s earlier rage. He doesn’t give Oikawa the chance to answer before he mumbles _wait_ and draws his wand.

The Gryffindor points at the other boy’s nose, muttering “ _Episkey_ ” before moving the wand downwards at the boy’s robes.

“ _Tergeo_.”

“Thank you,” Oikawa says, voice quiet and hoarse. “And… sorry.”

Iwaizumi sighs and lightly slides his hand into Oikawa’s. “Don’t apologize. I just want you to know your team is here for you, and so are your friends, and I—”

From Suga’s perspective, with Oikawa sitting cross-legged and Iwaizumi kneeling, the latter is slightly taller than the former. Oikawa stares up at Iwaizumi wide-eyed and lips parted, all traces of the nosebleed gone and face looking as flawless as usual. Iwaizumi is staring right back with a determined gaze and an expression that’s indecipherable even to Suga. He thinks the scene looks like something out of a movie, the only thing missing from the romantic vibe being rain.

Iwaizumi looks down at the hand he’s grasping before meeting his best friend’s gaze again. “I’ll always be here for you.”

It’s something that Suga never would’ve thought Iwaizumi would say, but Oikawa probably needs to hear those words right now.

Suga ducks back and silently retracts the ear, feeling like he’s intruding on something too private and intimate despite having no qualms earlier about eavesdropping. He might be slightly evil (though he prefers the word _mischievous_ ), but he does have the decency to know that a moment like that should belong to just Oikawa and Iwaizumi, which is why he withdraws without seeing Oikawa’s reaction or anything that happens after that.

He decides it’s smart to start heading back to the castle before he’s caught and slings his bookbag on as he stands up from the crouch. Glancing down, he notices the grass stains and waves his wand, leaving the fabric spotless and smooth. He tucks his wand away and realizes why he felt awkward watching that last part of the conversation between Oikawa and Iwaizumi. Iwaizumi’s words replay in his head and Suga realizes Iwaizumi was basically declaring he’d be with Oikawa for the rest of his life. _Always_.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

_4th year_

They’re downstairs and heading to the Great Hall for breakfast when the Slytherin Head Boy, Ando-san, stops them and frowns at Oikawa. Matsukawa and Hanamaki finally break off their argument about whether or not a love potion made with one’s own hair can increase one’s self-confidence (or arrogance, as Hanamaki says when he uses Oikawa as the subject of a hypothetical situation, and Oikawa whines about how mean they are). Matsukawa leans forward to look at Oikawa on the other side of Hanamaki, taking a proper look at his roommate for the first time this morning. He realizes Oikawa’s missing his tie, something that is actually quite obvious now that he sees a side-by-side comparison of Oikawa and Hanamaki but had missed earlier because he was too busy debating with Hanamaki.

“Oikawa-kun, where’s your tie?” Ando-san asks, gesturing towards the boy’s chest. Matsukawa expects him to speak in the smooth and airy tone he always uses to speak to authority figures and fangirls to say something about forgetting or losing it and then making one of his jokes at the end. Instead, Oikawa becomes visibly flustered, something that seldom happens (Matsukawa thinks the only time he’s witnessed the boy truly flustered was last year during the Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson on boggarts, which had turned into Iwaizumi with his arms around a person who looked both masculine and feminine upon facing Oikawa. They had the class with Ravenclaws, so he doesn’t know if Iwaizumi has heard of that event from anyone yet, but he and Hanamaki both know it’s not their story to tell despite their periodic teasing) and has him exchanging a look with Hanamaki.

“Um… My cat, uh, ate it,” Oikawa mumbles out, a striking contrast to the usual confident voice. Matsukawa whips his head up towards Oikawa’s face, a movement that is thankfully unnoticed by Ando-san, but the boy keeps his eyes trained on an unknown spot behind Ando-san.

“Ate it?” Ando-san raises an eyebrow slightly, and Matsukawa knows the Head Boy is unsure whether or not to believe the answer. If he was still in muggle school, he’s sure the teacher would’ve given him detention by now for such an absurd excuse, but he’s definitely seen pet cats here at Hogwarts devour all sorts of stuff they shouldn’t be able to (like a whole Transfiguration textbook. Seriously, what _are_ cats?)

Oikawa nods quickly and says, “Yeah, it already happened once with one of my assignments, but I didn’t know she’d try to eat my clothes too.”

Ando-san seems to accept Oikawa’s fibbed story, and Matsukawa can see his friend’s shoulders relaxing when Ando-san comments, “I didn’t know you had a cat. What’s her name?”

“Haji— meow. Her name’s Hajimeow,” Oikawa blurts out. Any sign of fluster that had diminished was suddenly back at full-force, and Matsukawa has a hunch about the reason.

“Cute name.” Ando-san’s smiling now, but Oikawa’s face remains impressively red. Matsukawa’s honestly surprised Ando-san hasn’t rushed him to the infirmary yet. “Come by the common room after breakfast, I have a spare one you can wear.”

“Thank— Thank you, Ando-san,” Oikawa chokes out, flashing a forced smile that immediately drops as soon as Ando-san walks past them. He glances at Hanamaki and Matsukawa, who wear matching innocent grins that have been perfected over the years, and starts walking, obviously hoping to avoid the imminent conversation.

“Whoa, whoa. Are we not going to talk about what happened there?” Hanamaki runs after Oikawa with Matsukawa following close behind, the wide grin betraying his serious tone.

“Yeah, Oikawa.” Matsukawa shoves his face into Oikawa’s line of sight and waggles his eyebrows. “Hajimeow, huh? You sure you weren’t projecting something into this little fantasy of yours?”

Oikawa looks away, face the same shade as the ties worn by a few Gryffindors walking past them. “Shut up. I… I had a mind blank, okay? I actually lost my tie. I don’t know why I made up that stupid story.”

Matsukawa has to admit Oikawa’s tone is pretty convincing, but unfortunately for the currently flushing boy, Matsukawa and Hanamaki have already had four years to develop their Oikawa crap-detecting instinct. Oikawa still manages to get away with lies and facades some of the time, but the other two boys have improved drastically at catching them, particularly ones concerning a certain special Gryffindor.

“Oh, really? That’s quite interesting because I’m pretty sure I saw you still wearing it last night after returning from Quidditch practice. Isn’t that right, Matsukawa?”

“Oh, he was _definitely_ still wearing it when we went up to bed. Remember how you made fun of him because the tail was way longer than the front?”

Oikawa throws his arms up in what Matsukawa thinks is an attempt to get them to stop talking. “I was tired after Quidditch! Stop making fun of me for that!”

“Avoiding the topic now, huh?”

“You know, Hanamaki, we should really go back to talking about his fantasy with that cat— ”

“Makki! Mattsun! That’s it! I’m leaving,” Oikawa shrieks exasperatedly before stalking off in the direction of the Great Hall. Matsukawa turns and mirrors the smirk on Hanamaki’s face, both knowing Oikawa’s tie definitely has something to do with the particular Gryffindor. Oikawa keeps looking back at the two of them, seemingly searching for some sign of teasing or maybe expecting some more grilling. Matsukawa knows why they’re remaining silent though: to wait until they get to the Great Hall and inspect a specific someone to see if _he’s_ wearing his tie.

Matsukawa knows Oikawa’s let his guard down when he lets himself scan the Gryffindor table as they make their way to the Slytherin one. Normally, Hanamaki would tease the boy about it, and Matsukawa would join in, but today, the two join his quest in search of the spiky-haired Gryffindor.

Finding Iwaizumi is actually an effortless task not because the boy himself is conspicuous, but because he’s always sitting with the infamously boisterous Bokuto and his slightly less intense version Nishinoya. Also with the crowd is Daichi and a boy with an almost-shaved head whose name Matsukawa doesn’t remember. He’s pretty sure Nishinoya and near-bald boy are in the year below them, but they’re the seeker and beater for the team, respectively, so he supposes they’re all friends due to their shared involvement with Quidditch.

Matsukawa immediately notices the lack of garment at Iwaizumi’s collar, the area looking empty compared to his peers who all don scarlet and gold-striped ties. He catches Hanamaki’s eye over Oikawa’s head and answers his best friend’s sly grin with his own. Once they reach the table, the pair of friends purposely maneuver the seating so that Oikawa is sitting across from them, allowing a clear view of his facial expressions during the upcoming interrogation.

Matsukawa knows Hanamaki’s letting Oikawa gain a false sense of security when five minutes pass by with just the sound of chattering around them and the clinking of utensils. Oikawa’s slathering his toast with a ridiculous amount of jam while Hanamaki piles his plate with creampuffs when the shoe drops.

“So, Oikawa, I noticed just now that Iwaizumi isn’t wearing his tie either. That’s such a coincidence, huh?” Hanamaki talks with a nonchalant voice, but Matsukawa recognizes the glint in his eyes.

Oikawa chokes on his toast and starts hacking loudly, one hand braced on the table and the other reaching for his goblet of orange juice.

“I—” _cough_ “have no” _cough_ “idea what you’re” _cough_ “talking about.”

“Oh, but you do,” Matsukawa chimes in. “Hanamaki, do you remember hearing footsteps at around midnight in our room? What, or _who_ , do you suppose that was?”

“Hmmm. You don’t suppose it was a burglar?” Hanamaki plays along cheerfully, watching Oikawa out of the corner of his eye.

“Maybe it was Tsukki _finally_ deciding to come up and murder Oikawa in his sleep!”

“Maybe a fangirl trying to _Slyther-in_ to Oikawa’s bed—”

“Bet you it was that creepy lady ghost who keeps flirting with him in the boy’s bathroom—”

“Ghosts don’t have footsteps, you doofus—”

“Ohh yeah. Hey, I know! It was probably Hajimeow!”

“Or perhaps even the real thing—”

Oikawa throws a bread roll at Hanamaki, who catches it flawlessly (numerous years of practice of Oikawa throwing projectiles whenever the teasing gets vicious) and takes a huge bite. “ _Stoooooooop_ it’s not what you think!” Oikawa whines childishly, and Matsukawa knows they’re close to wearing him down to the point of truth-spilling.

To put it in Oikawa’s own words, _hit it until it breaks_.

“Oh? Then what _should_ we think? You come back past midnight and conveniently lose your tie at the same time as your _boyfriend_ —” Matsukawa purposely emphasizes the word to trigger Oikawa, which is precisely what it does, if Oikawa’s blushing face is any indication.

“He’s not my _boyfriend_ ,” Oikawa hisses because he’s naïve and clueless enough to still think their ridiculously intense pining isn’t so damn obvious to everyone around them. Really, does he think nobody knows how he sneaks out on most nights and frequently wanders off to random corners of the school? And don’t even get Matsukawa started on their abysmal acting— he’s never seen anything oozing more romantic tension than the pair of pretending-to-be-nothing-more-than-acquaintances lovebirds. He’s pretty sure he and Hanamaki aren’t the only ones who can see the obvious love in the air, but surprisingly (and thankfully), tensions between Gryffindor and Slytherin remain the same even if anyone else _has_ noticed the blossoming (by this point, it’s really just torrid) romance between Oikawa and Iwaizumi, and he thinks the rivalry is even starting to dim.

“Okay then. Your _future_ boyfriend,” Hanamaki drones before popping a creampuff into his mouth. Oikawa looks ready to combust, and Matsukawa thinks it’ll take only a push or two more.

“Aye, Hanamaki, he _does_ want Iwaizumi as his boyfriend! I don’t think I’ve ever seen Oikawa so speechless before.”

"We should probably do this more often to make him shut up.”

“What do you think we should do for our groomsmen outfits? Actually, a more pressing question should be what do wizards do for bachelor parties?”

“Slay dragons?”

“Ooh that sounds fun Iwaizumi would lo—”

“Maaaaaattsun! Makki! _Stoooop_ okay fine I went out last night to meet Iwa-chan—”

Hanamaki and Matsuakawa immediately interrupt with a chorus of _Ooooooooooooo_ ’s, which makes Oikawa glare and splutter, “ _No_! It’s not what you’re thinking! We were walking by the Great Lake and Iwa-chan was talking about how I’d be too scaredy-cat to swim in it and that turned into a challenge so we went into the lake—”

“Naked?” Hanamaki asks eagerly. Oikawa shoots him a pointed look.

“Of course not! We had underwear on, Makki, you pervert!”

Matsukawa is the one to ask the next question. “And you guys just swam? Nothing else happened? No sneaking into each other’s rooms or something?”

“No!” Oikawa squawks. “We lost track of time and were worried about getting caught and accidentally wore each other’s ties. I didn’t even realize until this morning!”

“Lameeeeee,” Hanamaki drawls. “Here I was, thinking you finally got some with Iwaizumi.” Oikawa proceeds to look positively horrified and offended at the same time, mouth moving but no words coming out.

“Same, Hanamaki. But damn, Oikawa must’ve been super distracted by Iwaizumi’s nice abs to not notice he had the wrong tie until this morning.”

“I wasn’t distracted!” Oikawa protests.

Hanamaki delivers the killing blow. “But you admit his abs are nice?”

Matsukawa is pretty sure the entire Great Hall can hear Oikawa’s frustrated and anguished scream.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

_5th year_

In the Prefect’s Bathroom on the fifth floor, the man in the painting straightens up as soon as he hears footsteps outside the door. Sighing, he gets up and starts to make his way to the edge of the frame and into the neighboring painting with the limitless supply of butterbeer. He honestly doesn’t get why the founders had to place a painting in a _bathroom_ , where he has to endure awkwardness whenever someone comes in to use the bath (especially if it’s a female. After all, he _is_ a gentleman). He’s almost out of the frame when he stops, noticing how there are _two_ distinct voices outside the door. Curious, he stays sitting at the edge of the frame; only half of his body still visible. It’s almost definite for students to come alone and relax in peace (that _is_ the point of the Prefect’s bathroom), so he’s wondering if it’s two prefects from different years who happen to be friends, or a prefect and a Quidditch captain who happen to be friends…

The door slides open, and the first person to enter is a spiky-haired boy with olive eyes dark enough to be mistaken for brown or black. There’s a prefect badge pinned on one side of his chest and the painting man notes the scarlet and gold striped tie, eyes traveling to his companion and expecting the same Gryffindor colors.

It’s shocking when green and silver stare back at him instead. For a moment, the man wonders if he’s witnessing a murder scheme (the spiky-haired kid does have a scary vibe) because as a painting who’s been here for over a hundred years, he’s no stranger to the Gryffindor-Slytherin rivalry. Then, he notices the Quidditch Captain badge on the Slytherin’s robes (which means the boy _does_ have permission to be here) and relaxes slightly, thinking now there’s a higher chance of this _not_ being an illegal situation.

All of his doubts vanish when the conversation between the two boys flow easily in a way that suggests they’re close friends, but is gradually replaced by discomfort when the Slytherin transitions from fawning over the tub with the gold bath taps in a way that makes the painting man wonder if they missed the tour when they were appointed prefect and captain (“ _it’s just a bathtub, Crappykawa, or have you not taken a bath before?” “Mean, Iwa-chan! It’s my first time seeing it, and yours too! Are you not impressed?” “_ _…_ _Did you make it sound so… lewd on purpose?” “What?!”)_ to seductive teasing that borders on the line of flirting.

The Gryffindor’s (Iwa-chan?) already stripping off his robes and loosening his tie when the Slytherin (Crappykawa?) starts fiddling with the taps, cooing in amazement at the varying colors flow out from different taps. He excitedly shares this discovery with his friend, who replies in a patronizing way like one might speak to a child, but the painting man notes the fond look in the Gryffindor’s eyes. It reminds him of one painting located on the other side of the school which he’s seen but never visited. It depicts a lady staring out the window with a faraway look in her gaze, eyes full of wistfulness, her palms tucked under her chin on the windowsill. He overheard some other painting saying the woman was waiting for her lover to return from war, and it’s been over a hundred years but she’s still waiting, and probably will be for eternity. He didn’t think much about the painting except pity the maiden greatly, but now he’s reminded of her again.

The Slytherin’s still turning the taps on and off when he looks back and freezes as he witnesses the Gryffindor pulling off his shirt, revealing a toned body and defined muscles. The half-naked boy is concentrating on folding his shirt properly so he doesn’t catch the slip in the teasing and confident mask of the other boy, but the painting man does. He sees the gaping mouth and widened eyes, but it’s gone in a flash, and a lopsided grin appears instead.

“Wow, Iwa-chan. Are you doing a striptease for me?”

The other boy’s scowl deepens, and he kicks a shoe at the other, smirking victoriously when it smacks him on the side of his face. Whines echo through the bathroom, the boy rubbing at the side of his face and complaining about how dirty the shoe must be and how it must be ruining his flawless complexion with an ugly shoeprint. The Gryffindor snorts and says it’s a good thing they’re about to take a bath then and threatens to dunk him if he doesn’t shut up.

The painting man decides it’s time to leave before anyone strips any further but notices how the Slytherin has left two taps open to fill up the tub. Most people who come in here mix all the colors together until it’s an indistuiguishable hue or pick colors that resemble something like their house colors. So the painting man’s startled to find the tub slowly filling with crimson red water mixed with gold streaks, the last thing he sees before he slips out of the frame and into the painting next to him.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

_6 th year_

The action’s currently congregating on the other side of the field, with Daichi’s role as a Keeper at the goalposts providing him the perfect vantage point of everything happening. It helps that today’s weather is clear and slightly cloudy, meaning the sunlight won’t block their eyes and there’s no fog to obstruct their vision like what had happened last time during their match against Ravenclaw. Despite the lack of activity on Gryffindor’s side of the field, Daichi remains vigilant and attentive, knowing it won’t be long before Oikawa gains possession of the quaffle again.

The volume of the crowd suddenly increases exponentially, and Daichi immediately pinpoints the cause right before the commentator launches into a play-by-play: Nishinoya is speeding on his broom determinedly in a specific direction, meaning it is likely the seeker has located the snitch. The Slytherin seeker follows in pursuit, though the girl still lags a fair distance behind Nishinoya.

The other players on the field have now realized what’s happening, and Daichi watches with apprehension as Hanamaki and Matsukawa, the Slytherin beaters, attempt the Dopplebeater Defence tactic by swinging at the bludger together towards Nishinoya. Luckily, Tanaka is already hovering near the area and deflects the bludger at full force. Daichi returns his sights to the Slytherin goalposts, where Oikawa has indeed taken the quaffle and tucked it into his arms, his eyes sharp and scrutinizing as he flies in the direction of Daichi and his goalposts.

It happens so quickly Daichi doesn’t even know how to react. He sees the bludger Tanaka had struck making a beeline for Oikawa instead, compelled to knock off whatever players it can. He notices the figure in scarlet and gold uniform rapidly speeding towards the Slytherin chaser who’s concentrating too intensely on reaching the goalposts to detect the little iron ball hurtling towards him. Then, there’s a _whack_ that even Daichi can hear as Iwaizumi swings his bat at the bludger and it shoots off towards the Slytherin goalposts, hunting its next target. Oikawa comes to a stop and looks back to stare at Iwaizumi, who’s breathing heavily, and Daichi is still wondering _what on earth just happened_ when the stadium erupts into cheers. The whistle signaling the end of the match sounds.

Nishinoya holds the golden snitch in his gloved hand triumphantly as he makes his descent to the ground, Tanaka grinning widely behind him. Daichi tears his eyes away from the pair still hovering in the air and swoops down to congratulate his team, unable to stop the laughter that erupts as he watches the rest of his team, sans Iwaizumi, pile on top of the tiny seeker.

“Alright, guys. Let’s try not to suffocate our player of honor here,” Daichi says with a smile as the team untangle themselves and start making their way to the changing room, where they know Daichi will give them the usual post-game talk. He registers Iwaizumi landing softly on the grass next to him and is about to say something when the beater marches off to the changing rooms. The other players share confused glances when Iwaizumi barrels past them without a word, but Daichi’s pretty sure he knows what’s bothering the boy. Judging by the team’s reaction, everyone else was probably too busy concentrating on Nishinoya and playing their respective roles on the field to notice Iwaizumi’s little stunt. Daichi’s certain some of the spectators had witnessed it, especially Oikawa’s fangirls who track his every movement, so he guesses the team will find out soon enough from other people.

The team goes through their usual post-win routine, with Daichi’s congratulatory speech and ten whole minutes of cheering before everyone finally leaves the changing room. Daichi has kept an eye on Iwaizumi throughout the entire time, noting how the beater was acting quite somber for someone whose team had won, but everyone else was too busy riding on the post-victory high to notice or comment on it. He lingers around until it’s just him and Iwaizumi left in the room because aside from holding the responsibility as captain to make sure everything was neat and tidy before leaving, he knows Iwaizumi has something to say.

Sure enough, he’s locking up the broomstick shed when he hears someone approaching him.

“Daichi, I’m really sorry about what happened. I let my personal feelings interfere with—”

Daichi turns around and raises a hand calmly, a gesture to stop Iwaizumi from apologizing further. “It’s fine, Iwaizumi. I know you’ll be beating yourself up over that and thinking that you’ve betrayed your team, but I understand why you did it. I’m not going to hold it against you at all, and I trust that the rest of the team won’t either once they find out.”

“But—” Iwaizumi looks bothered, and Daichi knows his conscience is having a fierce internal battle.

“You saved Oikawa from a trip to the hospital, and I completely understand your decision to choose your… best friend over the match,” Daichi states, remembering Suga’s story from third year and their various theories about the status of the relationship between the Gryffindor and Slytherin. Suga’s betting money on the two dating secretly, but Daichi thinks they’re still tiptoeing around their feelings despite their undeniable attraction to each other. At the thought of Suga, he envisions Suga in the place of Oikawa, a bludger heading towards him and knocking him off the broom. As a Keeper, he probably wouldn’t get there in time if that were ever to happen unless it happened near the goalposts, but he would fight tooth and nail to save the boy even if he was on the other side of the field. He gets as far as imagining the silver-haired boy plummeting towards the ground before he forces himself to destroy the vision because his heart aches, and his fists are clenching. “I would’ve done the same if it had been my best friend,” Daichi confesses honestly, the thought of Suga still on his mind.

Iwaizumi still doesn’t look entirely convinced, but he nods, and some of the tension seems to leave his shoulders. Daichi claps him on the back and maneuvers them towards the door, trying to distract Iwaizumi from dwelling too long on his actions. “Let’s go, the others are probably waiting for us in the dormitories. Bokuto said he’s got butterbeer stashed under his bed for this special occasion.”

Iwaizumi’s slightly smiling at that, but it falters when he opens the door, and Daichi catches sight of Oikawa over Iwaizumi’s shoulder. The three of them stand on the field next to the Gryffindor changing room and Daichi notes how Oikawa’s eyes are red-rimmed. He doesn’t need to know much to guess why. Iwaizumi stares at the Slytherin chaser with an undecipherable expression, and Daichi supposes it’s because of the dilemma between being reminded of his “mistake” and wanting to comfort the Slytherin over the loss. For once, Oikawa doesn’t have his cheery grin plastered on, and he only acknowledges Daichi with a slight nod, which Daichi returns. The Gryffindor captain takes that as his cue to leave so the two best friends (or, as Suga keeps saying, _star-crossed lovers_ ) can talk it out, and hopefully, Iwaizumi will stop feeling so guilty.

“I’ll see you later,” Daichi offers as a parting to Iwaizumi, who grunts in reply, and hurries to the castle doors. He hears the unmistakable sound of a quivering voice and a quiet set of tears when he’s a few feet away, and he muses on how the two boys must be the only ones to see each other in their most vulnerable state.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

_7 th year_

Professor Irihata is sitting in his office near the Dungeons when he hears voices outside of his room. Glancing at the clock, he realizes students should still be in exams and sighs before moving to get off his chair to berate the kids outside until he hears the unmistakable voice of Oikawa Tooru. Being the head of the Slytherin house means frequently communicating to the Quidditch captain, as well being subjected to countless love potion fiascos revolving around the star chaser, so it’s no surprise when he immediately picks up on the cheery and flighty voice. He thinks he should go and demand to know why Oikawa and whoever he’s with are roaming the hallways when exams should still be in session, but seventh years are graduating next week, and he trusts Oikawa to not skip any exams deliberately. Besides, he’s heard the chaser is planning on playing Quidditch professionally, so the N.E.W.T.S probably don’t matter as much to him as they do to other people.

“Oi, Crappykawa. Did you drag me down here to actually say something?” Irihata doesn’t recognize the voice, but he has a _very_ good guess about who that might be. In fact, the entire school now knows of the special Gryffindor-Slytherin relationship after last year’s Yule Ball.

“Shhh, Iwa-chan! There were so many people up there, and I wanted to share my special news just with you!” Oikawa’s voice carries through the air, sounding a little strained. Irihata is wondering how he can still hear everything after the door is shut, then decides the two boys must be standing close to his office door. He looks back down at the assignment papers he still needs to grade and tries to concentrate on those instead.

“Okay, spit it out then.”

“Iwa-chan! Don’t you feel honored that the great Oikawa-san is gifting you this grand piece of knowledge?”

“I don’t even know what you’re going to say so why should I feel honored? Also, your obnoxious façade is like ten times stronger than usual and that only happens when you’re nervous about something. What’s wrong?”

There’s a beat of silence, and Irihata wonders if they had the sense to cast a _Muffliato_ spell, but then Oikawa’s voice sounds again. Only this time, it’s definitely more subdued and solemn.

“I… There’s a team who’s interested in recruiting me.”

Another moment of silence. Irihata thinks he and Iwaizumi are probably both confused by why Oikawa tells such news with a somber tone. He knows Oikawa’s dream is to play professionally, so why is he so hesitant?

“Oikawa, that’s great! Isn’t that what you’ve wanted since third year?”

“Iwa-chan… The team is in Argentina.”

Irihata still doesn’t understand why Oikawa sounds so desolate, but Iwaizumi apparently does.

“Stupid, I’ll just go with you. You didn’t need to sulk for the last three weeks—”

“No, Iwa-chan, I know you got an internship from a great hospital around here. I can’t just let you throw away an opportunity like that—”

“Oikawa. If you think I’m really going to pick an internship over you, you’re clearly delusional.” Iwaizumi’s voice is firm but calm, laced with affection. Irihata thinks he can definitely tell why the Gryffindor was chosen as Head Boy this year, and why Iwaizumi is such an excellent fit to Oikawa.

“But… Do you really not mind? I mean, we’ve both never been to Argentina, and you’ll have to find another internship, plus your parents and home are here—.”

“Of course I don’t mind. Home is wherever you are, and I promised I’d live with you after graduation, remember?”

“Iwa-chan… You’re such a romantic sap” is all Irihata hears before the sound of a body crashing into another combined with sniffles permeates the air.

“Yeah, well, I’m always going to be your sap.”

Irihata’s heart swells with pride for Oikawa, knowing he's always had faith in that boy. However, he's also slightly displeased because now he’s lost _another_ bet to Ukai. Damn it.

**Author's Note:**

> Yikes that ending was so cliché.
> 
> Honestly that seventh year section seems so short and anticlimactic but I couldn't really think of any better ideas :/ hopefully I'll rewrite that section one day and it'll become better.
> 
> (And in case any of you guys noticed, yes, the ketchup under the toilet seat bumps prank Hanamaki did was from Captain Underpants)
> 
> Thank you for reading & please comment to let me know what you think!
> 
> [Tumblr](https://numberonemilkbread.tumblr.com/) | [Twitter](https://twitter.com/numberonemilkb2)


End file.
